Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, often referred to as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease (because of the high profile nature of the former Major League Baseball legend), is a fatal degenerative disease that impacts primarily adults between the ages of 40 and 70. Because of this, it has become an issue that is seen mostly in older adults. People that have ALS see their coordination decline and eventually, there is a need for some sort of caregiver to step in and attend to daily needs. Even if that person is not yet a senior citizen, some form of elder care can become a necessity for the person with this disease, especially in the mid to late stages of the disease.
The average life expectancy of someone after an ALS diagnosis is made is two to five years, depending on how far things have progressed before a diagnosis has been made.
Right now, there are only two medications that are used to help slow the advancement of ALS. There’s no cure for the disease, and the two medications that are approved for treatment are not very effective in helping to slow down the spread. Hopefully, a new medication that is currently in development can help improve the quality of life for those that do have ALS for longer periods of time.
Recently, the New York Times ran a profile piece regarding this new treatment. It consists of two different medications and is being referred to as AMX0035. One of the two medications has traditionally been used to treat urea in children. When these two meds are combined, it looks like the spread of ALS can be reduced by 25 percent, at least according to the most recent round of trials that the medications have gone through. Over 130 ALS patients were given the combination, and the results were very promising. The trial was short–only 24 weeks–leaving a lot of room for future researchers to improve upon these findings.
And this most impressive part about this current research project? The two men that organized it were still in college when they began researching this. It goes to show that there is a lot of room in the field of medical research, and even though you might not have a doctorate–or even a college degree–there is still a lot of contributing that can be done to advancing medical knowledge.
ALS has received a lot of attention over the last few years, especially after the Ice Bucket Challenge brought awareness of ALS to the forefront of social media. This new found focus has led to more money going toward research, and hopefully further advancements can be made so that people diagnosed with this disease can continue to see improving prognoses.
People with ALS and other disabilities need caregivers in their lives that can help them get through their days a little bit more easily. We can help with that. Give us a call to learn about the in-home care services that we offer and how they might have a positive impact on the life of your family members.
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